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Blackout 2003 Toronto radio recordings

by: George Motoc

Publication date: 2003-08-15

Usage: CC0 1.0 Universal

Topics: 2003, blackout, Toronto, radio, George Motoc

Radio recordings from the great 2003 North American blackout, captured by George Motoc in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Friday 15 August 2003.

At the max, 50 million people were without power in Eastern North America.
This was at the time the second largest blackout in history.
As of August 2012, the blackout in India left 600+ million people in the dark.

*** ***
MOMENT ZERO
The blackout occurred on Thursday 14 August, 1611 hours, while most of the people were still at work.

***

As an ex-radio jock, I felt envious for not being behind a microphone during the blackout: it is a chance in a lifetime for a radio jock to seize the moment and create radio with historical value.
Some of the radio hosts you will hear in these recordings were up to the task!
**
Also seizing the moment was Canadian songwriter and podcaster Sean McGaughey. He was in Midland, Ontario during the blackout. He wrote a beautiful song about the blackout, Dark Beauty, you can listen it in the playlist.
Dark Beauty is licensed Creative Commons- No Derivatives, Non-commercial, Attribution

Addeddate: 2011-10-24 00:33:33

External_metadata_update: 2019-03-25T22:54:54Z

Identifier: Blackout2003TorontoRadioRecordings

Story: Radio recordings from the 2003 North American blackout, made in Toronto on Friday 15 August 2003, before lunch. There is another set with recordings made in the afternoon, you can easily find them on here. ** The blackout occurred on Thursday 14 August, shortly after 4 PM, while most of the people were still at work. I had a radio&tape recorder on batteries at home, and just let it record snippets of this historic moment in North America. As an ex-radio host, I felt envious that I was not behind a microphone at the moment, but some of the radiohosts you hear in these recordings seized the moment. ** Following are details about each file: STE-000 newstalk 610 AM STE-001 sports STE-002 MOJO Radio – talk radio for guys STE-003 680 News STE-004 Bill Carroll show STE-005 680 News and MOJO Radio STE-006 1010 CFRB Bill Carroll show; prime minister; 1000 hours STE-007 Mojo Radio AM640 talk radio for guys STE-008 1100 hours; 680 NEWS; 640AM MOJO STE-009 640AM Mojo Radio; mayor Mel Lastman STE-010 680 News; mayor Mel Lastman; police chief Julian Fantino; EMS response STE-011 680 News; city hall; waste collection STE-012 MOJO RADIO AM640 info STE-013 680 News; 1140 hours STE-014 97.3 FM Easy Rock STE-015 1010 CFRB Bill Carroll show; 1245 hours STE-016 1010 CRFB; Bill Carroll